France pays the price for believing in using “defensive players”, Mbappe must fight Ronaldo in the knock-out round?

Before the final match of Group D, the French team flew high at the top of the table with 4 points from a record of 1 win and 1 draw. Only having to face eliminated opponents like Poland, Les Bleus confidently pocketed 3 points to secure first place. The return from a broken nose injury of key striker Kylian Mbappe further helped the mainland media believe in the home team’s convincing victory.

However, things are not going in a positive direction for the French. Despite Kylian Mbappe quenching his thirst and scoring the first goal of his career at a Euro tournament, with a successful penalty kick in the 56th minute, coach Didier Deschamps’ team still could not successfully secure victory.

In the 74th minute, midfielder Dayot Upamecano committed an inexperienced foul on substitute Karol Swiderski in the restricted area. After consulting VAR, referee Marco Guida gave Poland a penalty kick. It took Robert Lewandowski two attempts to defeat goalkeeper Mike Maignan, equalizing the score 1-1.

Mbappe idolized Ronaldo when he was a dreamy boy

Efforts in the remaining time were not enough to help France find a goal. The mistake of “keeper” Upamecano, who also often made serious mistakes in the Bayern Munich shirt, caused the French team to leave the field with only 1 point. Along with Austria’s unexpected 3-2 victory over the Netherlands in the match at the same time, Les Bleus lost the top spot in the group and only entered the 1/8 round as runners-up in Group D.

Entering the knock-out round, France will share a branch with very strong opponents such as hosts Germany, Spain and Portugal. Even if they pass the round of 16, the “Gaulois Rooster” will likely have to face Portugal in the quarterfinals. At that time, fans will witness a fierce duel between Mbappe and Ronaldo, the French superstar’s childhood idol.

If France continue their winning streak, their potential opponents will be Germany or Spain. A truly thorny journey and full of pitfalls, all because of a disastrous draw in the final group stage match that seemed to be just a formality.

As of the morning of June 26, two pairs of matches have been determined in the 1/8 round of Euro 2024. Accordingly, host Germany will face Denmark, while Switzerland will clash with Italy.